As the metagame shifts from ADV to DP, many things change, but the one constant is that everybody wants to be the best. Well, it's that time again to prove that your country reigns supreme - time for the World Cup of Pokemon.

Last year, team Asia took home the honours in an intense square-off against USA Central. Who will take home the glory this year? It's time to find out!

Rules:

This years tournament will apply DP standard metagame rules. These are[taken from Smogon Tournament 4]:

-6 on 6 D/P battles played on the shoddybattle program.
-Pokemon that are considered "Uber" are banned from use on a player's team.
-Species Clause: You must use six different Pokémon on your team. You can't have two Chimchars on your team.
-Self-KO Clause: You cannot use moves like Explosion or Destiny Bond on your last Pokémon if it will force a tie.
-Sleep Clause: You can only put to sleep one Pokémon on an opponent's side at any time. If you use Spore to put one Pokémon asleep, you cannot use it again to put another Pokémon asleep until the first one wakes up.
-Freeze Clause: If at anytime two different Pokémon are frozen on a player's field, then the player that froze the two Pokémon loses.
-Evasion Ban: Moves that specifically increase evasion are banned. Double Team is an example of a banned move.
-OHKO Ban: Moves that have a chance of OHKOing a Pokémon are banned. An example is Sheer Cold.
-Battle Timeout must be on.
**-No scouting other peoples teams. You cannot watch ANY battle of the people in your division. Also, to prevent scouting in general, I give every participant the right to ask someone to stop watching their battle (To prevent person X from scouting on behalf of person Y in the divsion). If there are any problems, contact me of Shiv and it will be dealt with.**
-Send a log to Jackal or Shiv (C/P it) via Smogon PM of your battle to confirm your victory.
-Also, be sure to follow the Basic Tournament Signups Thread

Format:

This years format will be quite different from both previous years. We felt last years tournament was too short, and furthermore, not all the teams got to square off. This did not allow for the best representation of skills. Thus, for this edition, we decided to make it more of a battle royal, while trying to avoid a standard "pairings" format.

There will be a number of teams (yet to be decided, reliant on number of applications, either 8,12,16, most likely 8) that will be created based on the best battlers of several regions across the globe. These teams will be comprised of 8 battlers and 2 subs.

In the first round, the battlers will be split up into divisions of 4. Each battler will battle each other battler in the division once, round robin style, for a total of 3 battles. Points will be awarded to each team based on number of wins of its battlers. A win earns you 1 point. Placing first in your divsion nets your team an extra 2 points, and placing second nets you 1.

The top two seeded battlers in each division will move onto the second round. A three-way tie for one of these positions will be broken by number of pokemon killed. If there is still a tie, then winner of the head to head between the tied battlers advances. If there is a three way tie for most killed, then go to first complete all three battles advances. This is the most fair way to go about things.

In the second round and all subsequent rounds, a standard bracket will be constructed, placing a one seed against a two seed, and insuring members of the same team do not face off. If three of the final 4 members are from one team, the remaining member that is not of that team will battle all three team members, and if he wins all three, he will be declared the winner.

As a result, there will be an individual award of achievement, and ultimately a team winner, the team with the most points.

Applying:

This is, ultimately, an invitational tournament. Thus, I cannot promise that everyone will get a chance to play. It is NOT based on who posts first. I will ask everyone to post their Shoddy aliases, along with their two team preferences. This is based on country of residance, country of birth or nationality. For example, if you live in Texas, but are of Chinese descent, you could choose team Asia as your first choice to represent your background and team USA south as your second choice. The order you put is entirely up to you, but keep in mind some teams will be harder to make than others.

This is NOT a finalized roster by any means, but sign up for one/two of the following for the sake of organization:

Shiv and I will be selecting Captains based on reputation/reliability and also skill to choose 7 people and 2 subs from the applicants to round off their team. They also have the ability to recruit people who did not post who they feel would be good enough to compete.

That should be everything! I hope we can all have a great tournament this year, and may rivalries be revived! Feel free to smack talk, but keep it civil. Contact Shiv or myself for any comments/questions/concerns.

ALSO there is a website in the makings that will be completed shortly, so that is something to look forward to. In the meantime here are the previous tournaments: